The department, its community centers and its cultural arts and community center at Pine Camp will be closed Friday, December 23; Monday, December 26; and Monday, January 2 for the holidays. All parks will remain open as usual from sunrise to sunset. The department’s Before and After School program is closed during Richmond Public School’s winter break and will resume when schools re-open on

Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia & Latin America (RASAALA) is an open access e-journal; the current issue covers lifestyle migration and an archive is available. They are currently inviting papers on the subject of Sport Event Legacies (abstract deadline 22/2/120 and the Power of Place: Heritage, Archaeological and Sacred (abstract deadline 16/1/12).

This is a request for submission of full research papers, working papers, and/or posters for the 7th International Coastal & Marine Tourism Congress. It will take place 4-8 June 2012 in the Netherlands with keynote speakers, Dr Sheela Agarwal and Dr Brian Wheeller. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 13th January 2012.

My one-man show about Shkodra, Tirana, Gjirokastra, Saranda etc gets a test-drive at Bristol Old Vic in January:

I Went To AlbaniaTom PhillipsWed 11th, 7pm

Why did Enver Hoxha build 700,000 concrete bunkers across the whole of Albania? Were beards illegal under his communist regime? Can you really buy a secondhand Kalashnikov on the streets of Tirana? And what’s any of that got to do with Lord Byron, Edward Lear and John Constable’s picture framer?

Part travelogue, part personal history, part practical experiment, I went to Albania is a haphazard journey in search of a failed utopia, a debunking of myths, and a work-in-progress by writer/performer Tom Phillips in collaboration with director Andy Burden.

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT SPORT? WANT TO HELP CHANGE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE? THEN WHY NOT JOIN OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES?

Sport 4 Life is a local charity dedicated to bringing about real improvements to local communities and to the lives of children and young people most in need in Birmingham; they are now looking for 2 new Trustees to join the team - click here for more details.

I spoke about IQS Travel in a previous post, when they opened earlier this year. Just months later, they are celebrating after winning the Social Enterprise West Midlands (SEWM) 'Choose Social Enterprise' SE Profit Award ! find out more...

WHO: City and Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Officials WHAT: A performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one-act opera for the entire family, sung in English, telling the story of a mischievous shepherd boy named Amahl, his mother, the three kings who visit them, and the miracle that changed their lives forever.WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.WHERE:

They come at me - and passlike missed trains, failingto stop on schedule, trailinga line of lamp-lit heads.

Nothing is fixed -or everything is -and carriages rattle through,each secure in its own place,then off - beyond the horizon.

At a crossingon the Shkodra road(with mountains as horizon),kids run up to the brinkof the train they've missed.Kicking hard against shaleand cascaded shard,they swing up to occupycorridors that judderat every joint in the rail.

Or maybe that's just howI see it. At the fag-endof a long haul, I'm only looking onwhatever might be expected.

The sun glints - of course -and muezzins cry:they're out of shot.The train limps from sidingsback towards the capital.

In the aloof vacancy of a ticket hall,I'm assuming something of momentwill occur. We've arrived!

The BMC website provides news, features and events on climbing; equipment, safety and medical advice is available as well as various downloadable guidebooks. Whether you want to get the hang of climbing or need to stretch your skills a little further, the BMC Climbing Wall Directory gives details of all facilities around the UK here or try the Regional Access database. Their website also very helpfully contains videos, giving a step by step guide to beginners. For those researching the topic, grab this survey on climbing wall users,

Registration is now open for the ninth Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) to be held at Lucerne in Switzerland, from 8th to 11th October 2012.Adventure Travel Trade Association’s (ATTA) annual event will be held at the KKL Luzern (Culture and Congress Centre), built by renowned architect Jean Nouvel and is expected to draw 600 adventure tourism professionals from more than 50 nations more...

Links to reports and pictures from previous summits, can be found on this page.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has revealed plans for hotel operators across the UK to offer discounts to British holidaymakers next year as part of efforts to boost domestic tourism. Addressing the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Hunt said he is in talks regarding the possibility of offering a 20.12 per cent discount at hotels and B&Bs. The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and associated events, including the Torch Relay, were highlighted by Hunt as having the potential to “transform” the UK’s tourism sector. Working in partnership with tourism minister John Penrose, Hunt said the government will be looking to turn “strong interest into good business”. Last month, Hunt announced that £3m from the Olympic budget had been allocated to help boost domestic tourism based around the Torch Relay and the Cultural Olympiad. Hunt said: “We want to use next year to transform our domestic tourism industry. We want next year to be the year to have a holiday at home.” (IMSPA Digital magazine, Oct 11)

Sean Holt, the interim chief executive officer of the new Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (IMSPA), has said the body will look to draw members from a much broader cohort than its forerunners. In an interview with Leisure Management, Holt said that while core membership will still comprise those employed by operators and suppliers, the institute hopes to attract professionals working across the physical activity sector. The broadening of the net is part of IMSPA’s aim to represent the whole of the active leisure sector. IMSPA was formed as the result of a merger of Institute of Sport and Recreation Management and the Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure (ISPAL). While IMSPA will look to expand its reach within the active leisure sector, Holt added there would be less involvement with parks – formerly a key element of ISPAL. Read the full interview

The department, in partnership with My Creative Spirit, a new Northern Virginia theater company, will present a staged reading of “That ColorBlind Kind Of Love” at the Hickory Hill Community Center on Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. The play, written by English teacher Rebekah Peirce, premiered at the Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage Festival in September. The drama tells the story of Sampson and his

The city of Richmond will host a Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, November 11, at 4 p.m. at the World War I Memorial Carillon in Byrd Park. “The city of Richmond is proud to honor the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and we will never forget their courage and commitment to protecting our freedom and fighting for the rights of the oppressed,” said Mayor Dwight C.

The department received the Community Outreach of the Year Award from the United States Tennis Association’s Virginia District at the organization’s annual meeting and awards luncheon held at the Country Club of Virginia on October 29. Department Director Dr. Norman C. Merrifield and the department’s tennis program coordinator, Victor Rizzi, accepted the award on the behalf of the city and Mayor

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will hold its annual Cheerleading Jamboree on Thursday, November 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Landmark Theater, located at 6 N. Laurel St. Approximately 600 cheerleaders from the department’s community centers and area high schools and colleges will perform during the event. Tickets for the event are $3 in advance for

"I am delighted to inform you that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced today that VisitEngland’s bid for funding from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) was successful.

The money will be used on a three-year project entitled, Growing Tourism Locally which has been designed to stimulate economic growth and employment locally. A key part of the project will be a national campaign aimed at inspiring Britons to take more short breaks and holidays at home and in doing so create the equivalent of 9,500 full time jobs across the country.

VisitEngland will work with tourism partners and the private sector at a national and local level. Partners will manage elements of the campaign for their destinations, whilst VisitEngland will manage the national strategy supporting this local activity. The campaign will capitalise on next year’s once-in-a-generation events like The Diamond Jubilee, the Torch Relay, the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games that will act as a catalyst to showcase the whole of the country.

The funding will be divided into two parts, with some allocated to a number of destination partners who will work closely with VisitEngland to design and implement their campaigns, and the rest will be devoted to thematic activities, enabling a greater number of destinations to get involved and benefit. The thematic campaigns include countryside, heritage, coastal and business tourism.

VisitEngland and its delivery partners will work closely with private sector partners to match fund the grant received from the RGF. VisitEngland is currently working with Government on the next stage of the RGF process to confirm the fine detail and the terms and conditions of the funding.

This is great news for tourism businesses and English destinations and we will keep you up to date with the progress".

The department will hold a breast cancer awareness event and fundraiser called “Let’s Pink” at its Hickory Hill Community Center on Nov. 4 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event will include raffles, visual arts, vendors, food, music, entertainment and much more. The mission of Let’s Pink is to merge the vibrancy and artistic minds of Richmond’s youth and young adults with the knowledge and life

Tourism & More.com is a website set up and run by Dr Peter Tarlow (author of 'Event Risk Management and Safety') which provides details on upcoming seminars, conferences and training. It also features the 'Tourism Tidbits' newsletter, aimed at giving "travel professionals a monthly, easy-to-read overview of creative ideas". It's published in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish.

Sign up to receive the newsletter by emailing ptarlow@tourismandmore.com. Please contact them if you would like to see a particular topic covered by 'Tourism Tidbits'. Articles submitted for consideration for publication are welcomed.

ROSO contains Olympic and Paralympic content from over 1000 bookchapters and journal articles including handbooks and major reference works on themes including the media, education, gender, politics, governance, management, law, business, ethics, legacies, the environment, disability sport, athletic performance and history. Routledge has commissioned over 40 new journal special issues across disciplines on Olympic and Paralympic Studies that will be revealed on our innovative platform.

This is an advance notice of a one day symposium convened by Dr Philip Stone and Professor Richard Sharpley to formally launch the Institute for Dark Tourism Research (iDTR) at the University of Central Lancashire (UK), will be held on 24 April 2012.

There will a panel of six keynote speakers, from both private and public sectors, the University of Cambridge, Kings College London, UCLan and the University of Limerick. The event is aimed at academics, students, industry and the media who have an interest in dark tourism.

The majority of Brits prefer to head to the beach on holiday, according to the results of a recent ABTA survey. More than a third of Brits chose a beach holiday as their perfect getaway, with women (42%) preferring to be beside the seaside more than men (31%). But as the majority of people prefer to travel with their family (42%), it is likely that the men will get dragged along.

City breaks were the second most popular type of holiday, favoured by 17 percent of Brits, and more popular with men than with women. Cultural breaks came third (11%) followed by romantic getaways which, curiously, were more popular with men.

While family holidays were the most popular with both sexes, men were found to be more inclined to take breaks with friends (19%) than women (16%); they also have a greater inclination to travel alone, compared to women.

Split by age group, beach holidays were most popular among 35-44 year olds, while city breaks were favoured more by 25-34 year olds (24%).

The department will offer six weeks of fitness training for new mothers and their babies that will help the moms lose weight, get back into shape, and regain their confidence, while they bond with their babies. It’s called “Mom and Me Boot Camp.” Classes will start on Nov. 2 and run through Dec. 14 and will be held at the department’s Humphrey Calder Community Center at 414 N. Thompson St.

The AAIAC has produced a document for operators, trainers, builders, inspectors and constructors of ropes courses.

This guidance is intended to assist all those involved with ropes courses to comply with EN15567:2007 which sets out the standards to be met for the installation of new ropes courses and the operation of both new and existing courses.

In his recent speech, the prime minister said tourism is vital to help the UK get back on track, that it's "fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy". He stated the industry contributes £115bn to the British economy every year, and would provide "one of the best and fastest ways" of generating jobs and income.

On that sixth-form geography field trip,we hadn’t got that farbefore the coach stopped,pulled over in a lay-by on the Great North Road.I wrote an essay on new town developments.Houses happened behind revêtements,the last of these fields to go.

You could just about seethe concrete cows along peripheral horizons.On Saturdays, I traded in some unwanted recordsat stalls spilling out from the shopping mall.Under rain-scaped skies, we walked back,paid the ticket, got into the car, went home.

We made it through to somewherealmost recognised: book stacksflashed like so many blank spacesin a Zoetrope. You insistedthat I hadn’t seen it all.

Around what looked like a lift shaft,tentative borrowers pulled outhard spines, hopeful cases.Below us, contending zealots stood,uttering the codicesof their various religions.We heard their whispersin the silences left behindby the books whose titles we withdrew.

2A grey wood. Predictable.The First World War.I might be either of my grandfathers.At this point, I am about to tellmy comrades that I’m goingfor a stroll. The elmsdefine the horizonlike lost opportunities.I walk. When I return,my bed’s been made:not a sign of trouble.The sergeant lumbers up

blocks out what's left of the light:‘And where the fuck have you been?’

An article written by Nicky Gardner made the headlines in a local newspaper recently because it's all about the No.11 bus route. She has described the 27-mile route as one of 'Europe's hidden tourist gems'.

From Jozef Tischner: ‘An encounter marks the beginning of a drama. The drama has a time and place of its own, as well as its own major and minor heroes. This implies that a drama has a hierarchy. Every encounter is threatened by separation, and in every separation lives the muted memory of the encounter. The impossibility of radically cutting ourselves off from one another is one of the sources of the tragedy that permeates human relations. This accounts for our tendency toward repeated encounters and repeated separations. There is nothing in an encounter as such, however, that requires it to end tragically. The horizon of the drama, even if it is open to the phenomenon of the tragic, contains many other possibilities as well, such as the possibility of the triumph of the good, the possibility of the ennoblement of the person, and also the possibility of comedy and farce. All the variations of the drama are possible, however, only where the interpersonal sphere has taken on a hierarchical character and preferentiality has penetrated to the very core of human thinking.’

A new (very short) poem of mine is posted amongst those marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11 on Todd Swift's blogsite Eyewear - http://toddswift.blogspot.com/

This coming Wednesday (14 Sept), I am doing a poetry reading at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution as part of an event called 'Four Voices Of Freedom', a commemoration of the centenary of American anarchist Paul Goodman. Dinal Livingstone and two other poets are on the bill. It starts at 7.30pm.

In conjunction with the City of Richmond’s Neighbor-To-Neighbor Initiative and HandsOn Greater Richmond, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will hold a Day of Service and Remembrance on Sunday, September 11, 2011 in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition, residents are asked to give back to the community by volunteering for various

All city parks and recreation swimming pools are closed today due to power outages and storm debris. Site inspections are currently underway, and pools will re-open once determined safe for public use. In addition, the following community centers are closed today due to power outages: Westover, Ann Hardy, Hotchkiss, Battery Park, and Creighton Court.

Due to impending inclement weather, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has cancelled tonight’s Movie in the Park at Jefferson Park, “Dogs and Cats: Revenge of Kitty Galore.” the movie, which will concludes the department’s series of free family Movies in the Park, will be rescheduled at a future date. In addition, it is the department’s policy to close park trails

Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has added another free movie to its series of family films shown in parks around the city. “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore” will be shown at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, in Jefferson Park at 21st and East Marshall streets. In the animated family comedy, cats and dogs join forces for the first time in history to take down Kitty Galore, a

The City of Richmond in conjunction with First Friday’s will host RVA presents The Lounge at Center Stage (The Lounge). This Teen Arts event will take place outside at Seventh and Broad streets on Aug. 5, 2011, from 6 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. The pilot project - coordinated by Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities; Richmond Police; CenterStage and SMG, with support from the business community

Almost precisely as you’d expect,it's the wires’ thickening cross-hatchacross pocked tarmac, stained render,comes closest to local authority boundaries.Or, approached another way, the paleconcrete sweep of southerly ring-roadwith its phalanx of 50s council housing,TV dishes and double-glazing sun-glints:the cusp of a city that will draw you inthrough misnamed, treeless avenues(Boer War victories, bird species, poets)or up and over railway bridges,past gravelled yards, construction sites,the terraces’ gradual narrowingto these fin-de-siècle cul-de-sacs.With buddleia and footpathsgathering to allotments, mesh gates,there are marram grass patches,sunk culverts’ mossy blockages,and a security guard, arms akimbo,pacing limits of occupied land.

From here then, best move onthrough burnt ochre cars relapsing to spare parts, domestic whims expressedas pebbledash frontage, garden gnomesand koi carp winking dirty orangein the glaucous eye of a pond.These, too, are part of the city:indented chalk vale, schoolyard,billboard, improvised belonging –left around for decades in one place,we’re hardly more at home than Russian vineor this branch of Lidl opening latebeneath defaced factory buildingsand scaffolders joking, on overtime.At a guess, it will only be monthsbefore we no longer recognisereconfigured thoroughfares,arrangements of girders and plate-glass.

The department has scheduled three programs to be held in its James River Park System. On Friday, July 29, children and their families are invited to come to the park’s headquarters at Reedy Creek, 4001 Riverside Drive, for a program called “Insects at Night.” This program offers a hands-on investigation of insects caught in light traps and is co-sponsored by the James River Park

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will be able to expand and enhance its free summer meals program for children and its child and adult care food programs with a funding boost from Walmart and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). The department was among 30 agencies chosen nationwide to benefit from a $2.1 million grant from the Walmart Foundation and

The department will kick off its third year of free movies in the park on Friday, July 15, at 8 p.m. with the showing of "Megamind” in Byrd Park beside Fountain Lake. The animated film features Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Tina Fey in a sci-fi comedy that finally gives the underdog a chance to save the world. “Megamind” will be followed by six more free family movie nights in

The City of Richmond has rescheduled its Festival of the Arts’ Fourth of July program at Dogwood Dell for 7 p.m. tonight, July 5. The program, originally scheduled for last night, was postponed due to inclement weather.The program this evening will begin with a performance of patriotic music by the Richmond Concert Band, and will be followed by fireworks starting at approximately 8:30 p.m. The

WHO: Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Byron MarshallCarMax President and CEO Tom FolliardCarMax Foundation President Lynn MussattRichmond Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities Dr. Norman C. MerrifieldOther City and CarMax Officials and Youth Basketball TeamsWHAT: A ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a new basketball court and recognize the CarMax Foundation for its donation of a

Organised by St Petersburg State University for Service and Economics, in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, the Forum will feature key speakers from the Russian hospitality, tourism and events industry. The aim is to identify the key problems and challenges faced by these industries and to find practical solutions for these. There will also be ample opportunity to network with many other organizations from around the world.

The Conference takes place in Tavrichesky Palace, the headquarters of Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States The agenda will be linked to the preparation for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014.

Academic papers submitted will be published after the event as a book chapter. For more information and to register your interest, email c.green@shu.ac.uk.

Whether you are a first-time traveller, seasoned explorer or experienced traveller, this website aims to offer a 'travel writing home' to share your adventures. It has a search facility to see posts with photographs of visits from around the world as well as featured journals. There are useful resources and tools and current geo-related information – all in a 'state of the art and fun environment'.

The winner of the 2011 World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship was named as Zoe Smith. She’s currently in Turkey with her Rough Guides mentor, Terry Richardson. If you want to follow Zoe’s adventures, keep an eye out for #RGZoe tweets and tales from the road in upcoming Rough Guides newsletters.

The Michael Hoppen Gallery are pleased to announce an exhibition of photographs by Ruth Orkin including American Girl in Italy, one of the most widely known photographs ever taken. Co-curated by Orkin's daughter, Mary Engel, the exhibition will feature rarely seen photographs from Orkin's travelogue encapsulating the tourist's experience in Italy alongside iconic images spanning Orkin’s career.

WorldNomads.com was launched in 2002, with an aim to provide a range of services to help ensure the safety of independent travellers. As well as flexible travel insurance, they have created a number of tools such as language guides and travel blogs plus current travel safety information.

They also run a number of travel programs such as scholarships, where they partner with companies such as National Geographic, Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Radio to provide unique learning experiences for travellers looking to further their experience in the fields of travel documentary, podcasting, writing and photography.

City children between the ages of one and 14 are invited to join the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and other children at sites around the world to help set a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson™.All children need to do for a chance at becoming a world record holder is come to the department’s Swansboro Pool at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, and

The department of is selling discount tickets to Kings Dominion, Water Country USA and Busch Gardens at prices that range from $31 to $54.Kings Dominion Good Any Day tickets are on sale for $42 for adults and $32 for youth and senior citizens. In addition, discount tickets for admission on Park and Recreation Days, July 1 through Aug. 5, are available for $32 for all ages.Water Country discount

In case you missed it last night, here's a link to a TV programme with Stacey Dooley investigating the side of tourism the average holidaymaker doesn't see, from hotels exploiting workers to tourist developments affecting the environment. Click here to view

The Sport and Recreation Alliance is the new name for the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) and is the umbrella organisation for the governing and representative bodies of sport and recreation in the UK, representing more than 320 members – such as the FA, the Rugby Football Union, UK Athletics, the Ramblers, British Rowing and the Royal Academy of Dance.

Their role, as a trade association, is to speak up on behalf of their members and represent their views. They promote the interests of sport and recreation and also campaign on major issues such as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy, the regulatory burden on Sports and Recreation Clubs, attracting major sporting events to the UK and improving access to waterways and countryside.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City of Richmond will kick off the 55th annual Festival of the Arts on Friday, June 10, at 8 p.m. on the Dogwood Dell stage with the Upper East Side Big Band. The festival features 30 evenings of outdoor family entertainment at Dogwood Dell throughout out the summer that are free to attend.Highlighting the annual festival will be the city’s Fourth of July Celebration

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) was set up in 2004 to help find solutions to poverty in parts of the UK. They have since produced over 50 publications looking at asocial issues and seeking to harness the experience and dedication of grass-roots organisations into the policy formation process. In January 2010, they launched six new policy areas, expanding the CSJ’s overview into areas such as youth justice, mental health, older age and sport.

This report is the second of those new areas to publish after Outcome-Based Government in January 2011, while the rest will be released over the course of the summer and autumn. 'More than a Game', seeks to examine the use of sport as a tool to engage and work with young people in deprived communities. Topics covered in the report are:

"One day I am close to there. It is on the frontline now. On their side... We are hunting Croats. Besnik and I. And I look out across the street, over the frontline, and there is the window of our bedroom. Where Marketa and I have slept. Only then I see - like slow motion - smoke comes out of it. Then boom. And then fire. Up the side of the building, turning concrete black. And I run out into the street, duck behind a car, and shoot and shoot and shoot at the Croats, all the time that my home is burning."

A new 'Voluntary Code of Good Governance for the Sport and Recreation Sector', has been published by the Sport and Recreation Alliance to help sporting and recreational bodies aspire to and maintain good governance and assist those in senior management positions to run their organisations more efficiently. It has been welcomed by UK Sport and the Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Roberts. More...

Britain is failing to harness the power of sport to divert young people from a life of anti-social behaviour and crime, according to a landmark new report from a major think-tank published this week (May 24, 2011). Read more...

CPD is the mark of a Professional, and IMSPA in partnership with the Regional Management Boards (RMB's) have been working hard to put together a comprehensive and contemporary package of CPD events. Read more...

Seb Coe current Chairman of the London Organising Commitee of the Olympic games will team up with Britain's best known diver, Tom Daley to officially open SportPark at Loughborough University. Read more...

For the past 5 years, ISRM and IQL have run a competition to test the UK's Lifeguards based on 3 elements, timed swim, CPR and theory. Entries are coming in thick and fast click through to see who's winning. Read more...

ISRM and ISPAL merged to form a new organisation, The Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (IMSPA), a single professional body for this sector in the UK. Their website offers information and resources including news, qualifications, training and events and a jobs/careers section. There is also a comprehensive online shop selling publications, posters for health and fitness suites as well as swimming pool areas, information notices, management information and training DVDs.

The department will hold a Family Fishing Fair on Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to noon at Shield’s Lake in Byrd Park. The event will be free and open to anyone five years old and older. No fishing license is required because it’s Virginia’s annual Free Fishing Weekend. Local fishing experts will be on hand to teach basic freshwater catch-and-release fishing.If you plan to attend, the department

The Landing, the concession at Byrd Park, will open for business at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28. It's located at Byrd Park’s Fountain Lake and offers pedal boat rides and food service throughout the summer months. It will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until dusk.Pedal boat rides will cost $12 for 30 minutes, and food service will include hot dogs, hamburgers, barbeque, a wide variety of

The City of Richmond will hold its annual Memorial Day Program at 4 p.m. on Monday, May 30, at the Carillon in Byrd Park, 1300 Blanton Avenue.This event is free to the public and open to all who wish to honor those who have served Virginia and the nation. The program will include a selection of patriotic music, presentation of a memorial wreath, and a concert on the Carillon bells by city

Children in the department's After School Program revealed yesterday that they raised $1,125 to help build playgrounds for children in Haiti and Afghanistan. The children made the announcement after sliding down a sliding board at the George Mason Elementary School Playground.Each year, children in the program select a charity to support that helps other children and their families somewhere in

WHO: Paul Manning, Chief Service Officer, City of RichmondDavid B. Jones, Board Member, International Childhood Enrichment Program, and Associate Professor in Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Southern MaineCharles Hester, After School Program Coordinator; Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities, City of RichmondChildren in the Richmond Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities’ After

“We have opened IQS Travel because we want to make a difference for the people who find it hard to book their holidays due to an illness, disability or limited mobility. We have dedicated, experienced advisors who have the knowledge to go the “extra mile.”

Carol Goff, chairperson of Ideal For All

A brand new local travel agency, IQS Travel, opened its doors recently to offer a much needed service for people who have specific accessible needs when going on holiday. The service was officially launched by the Patron of Ideal For All, Dave Heeley (pictured above). The IQS Travel agency will not only provide a specific focus when booking holidays for disabled people, but will also be available to the wider community.

Customers can make a difference by booking their holiday with IQS travel agency, as the service is being run as a social enterprise; any profits made will be reinvested for the benefit of disadvantaged communities of Sandwell and beyond. Find out more

On Thursday, May 12, you can help send a Richmond child to summer camp, as well as hear some of your favorite music, by contributing to the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ annual Send-a-Kid-to-Camp Radiothon. Residents are asked to call (804) 521-8400 any time between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on May 12 to make a donation to the Send-a-Kid-to-Camp Campaign, and for any

You don’t know this but last nightI lay awake and watched you sleeping,Heard the soft scrape and wheeze of your breathing,Felt the warmth of your body and thought:

‘What on earth are you doing here?I’m not married to you, Audrey Hepburn,And I’ve never eaten breakfastOutside a downtown jewellery shop.’

Politely, Miss Golightly tossed and turnedTill the milkman’s electric go-cart squeaked.It was never meant to be. She spurnedMy offer of staying the rest of the week.

Which, all things considered, is just as well.Manhattan fantasies are nothing but rotFor drunken fools who are over the hillAnd believe there’s more than they’ve got.

There isn’t. Love simply changes its hue.Sometimes, it pulses a deep, vibrant red,Sometimes it’s insufferably blue.Whatever. The amorous film stars are dead.

Which means, my love, there’s more to lifeThan what passes for it on the telly.Audrey Hepburn would never be my wifeOr do breakfast at Southville Deli.

Before the second summer of love

Looking into the face of the wrinkled hippyIs like staring at a leathery elephant’s arse.In fact the elephant’s arseWould smell much nicer and talk more sense.But hey, man, we’re at Glastonbury and allThe blessed children of the sun/moon/earth/starsHave abandoned their two-tone semis for Pilton’s New Jerusalem.

The scrotum-cheeked one gabs on and onWhile the Cure grind out some dodgy gothic blues.“The 60s,” he says, “were mind expansion.Festivals. Peace. Free love.” And I’m thinking,Back in the 60s, mate, the only free loveIn this field was bovine rape: the bullEntertaining half the diary herd.Hippies are just ramblers in disguise,Dumbly sentimental for the countryside.

This one claims Jerry Garcia is Jesus and nobodyWill ever be as good as Hawkwind or Pink Floyd.Next thing you know he’s recreating Hendrix riffsWith a strand of pubic hair and an empty flagon of cider.Something about his I-ching-rebirthed-tantric beingMakes me want to puke. Maybe it’s his rainbow flares.His nasal whine. Or the aura of patchouliLike the stench of old socks left overnightIn a bucket of dead carnations.

He believes I’m a cynic but my heart is good.He’s more naïve than I thought.“Vietnam,” he says, “now that gave us a cause.”As if he was glad that war broke outSo he could blather into the small hours.He thinks he’s revolutionary:He makes Norman Tebbit sound like Karl Marx.

There was no great flowering of love in the 60s,Just the contraceptive pill and a lotOf teenagers up in their roomsWith photos of Twiggy and a large box of Kleenex:Tofu-guzzling guru-hunters shafting sheepAt bongo communes in deepest Wales.

My Glastonbury relic had a mystic experienceSomewhere outside Carmarthen. GandalfAnd Bilbo took him on a trip – but the randy hobbitStarted feeling up the elves and the wizard went off in a huff.

The relic claims he knows the secrets of the cosmosBefore asking me the bus times back to Bristol.He didn’t want to leave his car all weekend in a field.“It’s new. It’s the firm’s. You know how it is.”

Oh, yes, I know how it is. Nostalgia for someone he never wasOozes from him like ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ oozedFrom every hi-fi back in 1971. And whatever idealsHe didn’t have are deader than Elvis Presley.I wish I could think of something wittyBut instead resort to “Fucking hypocrite hippy!”And the crystal-wearing peace-loving crowdOblige by beating me to a pulp.

Life is shit

When your fag gets caught on your underlipAnd burns the tips of two fingers;When the cat’s had a crap in your favourite shoes;When the last place left to drink is full of suitsAnd kebabs just look like alien beings;When the taxi queue’s so long you won’t get a cabUntil this time tomorrow – and there’d be a bloodbathOn the streets of Yate, if only the population of YateWasn’t kicking the shit out of each other in Bristol;When you’ve finally made it home on footAnd woken the street by puking in your surprisingly resonant bin;When you’ve tried to regain equilibriumWith one last tin of Stella and David Bowie’s ‘Low’But found the lager’s flat and the CD’s scratched;When you’ve tumbled into bed and wishedYou’d never eaten those digestives;When you’re flat out but the room’s still spinning;When you’re alone and facing the prospect of a dawnSo dissonant it makes Swedish death metal sound tunefulAnd you’d pop your head beneath the pillow and screamIf your brain wasn’t rattling round your skull like a pinball;When the hangover has finally struck and the only thingOn telly are the Tweenies and the bodybagsComing home from Baghdad; it is tempting to admitThat life is shit and go out in search of what compensates for it:The almost-missed daisies like fireflies in the park,The perfect lover glimpsed in the corner of your eye,That conversation you had, that anecdote,A poem, a photo, a painting, a blinding shag,The insufferable persistence of beautyIn waterfalls, trees, clifftops and beaches,The insufferable simplicity of breathing.

Only, this isn’t the eighteenth century and Wordsworth is dead.This isn’t the Industrial Revolution.It’s the Post-Industrial Revolution.It’s the post-post-post-modern revolution:Bill Gates, Big Mac, Bush and Brown,‘I’m a Celebrity – get me out of here’,‘Shaun Of The Dead’, ‘Dawn Of The Dead’,and, in the dead of the dawn,there’s only one conclusion to draw:life is fabulously, beautifully, gloriously shitand you’ve got one choice:neck that Bloody Mary,deep breath, face it.